Two men alleged to have stabbed a Eureka man to death during a robbery spree were arraigned in a hearing closed to the public Wednesday on charges of robbery, attempted robbery and murder, according to Humboldt County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Brenda Godsey.

John Lewis Way, 30, and James Robert Stanko, 26, are alleged to have committed a string of five robberies and attempted robberies over a 25-minute span Friday night — a string that culminated in Andrew Pease, 36, of Eureka, being stabbed to death in the parking lot of Ray’s Food Place on Broadway.

In an arraignment held at the Humboldt County jail due to flooding in the Humboldt County courthouse, Stanko and Way were arraigned on charges of robbery, murder and five counts of attempted robbery, according to Godsey, who said she did not know whether the men entered pleas.

A Times-Standard request to attend the proceeding was denied by jail administrators, who cited security concerns. Numerous calls placed to members of the District Attorney’s Office seeking the outcome of the arraignment were not returned, and those who were reached said they did not know.

The courthouse was closed and evacuated Wednesday afternoon due to mass flooding reportedly caused by a faulty valve in a second-floor bathroom. Arraignments scheduled to take place in the afternoon were moved to the jail, according to Godsey.

Because Way and Stanko are alleged to have committed murder in the course of a felony — in this case an attempted robbery — District Attorney Paul Gallegos said his office could choose to seek the death penalty in the case, but has yet to make that decision.

Pease, a father of two boys, died of multiple sharp-force injuries, according to Humboldt County Deputy Coroner Charlie Comer.

According to co-workers, Pease was a devoted family man who worked with developmentally delayed children, and was with one of them at the time he was attacked.

A third suspect in the case, Daniel Joseph Dower, 27, has not been charged with a crime. Consequently, EPD Criminal Investigations Supervisor Sgt. Patrick O’Neill said the department is withholding a photo of Dower while it continues to investigate his alleged involvement in the case.

Godsey said Way and Stanko are being held in the Humboldt County jail on $1 million bail, and are due back in court Friday for a bail hearing.